Netflix’ wrestling series GLOW returns for season two on June 29 with 10, 30-minute, brand-new episodes. The series, from showrunners Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, was a big hit last year among fans and critics and it did not take long for Netflix to renew the show for a second go.
The season one finale saw Ruth Wilder and Debbie Eagan wrestling for the GLOW crown, a match which Eagan and her character Liberty Belle won. But just like it happens in professional wrestling, there was a swerve. Director Sam Silvia wanted to shock the audience and sent in The Welfare Queen to quickly dethrone Liberty Belle, ending the season with the “heel” going over.
Tamme “Welfare Queen” Dawson, played by professional wrestler Kia Stevens is a leading character in the first part of the new season. Last year we did not get much back stories on each character but this season we’ll get to know Tamme – and others – some more and meet her son who has no idea that his mother is portraying a wrestling character on local television. The big buildup in the first few episodes is the match between Tamme and Debbie Eagan as Eagan looks to reclaim the crown she won in the first season.
But the main storyline continues between Debbie and Ruth. Last season, Ruth slept with Debbie’s husband, destroying their friendship forever. In season two, Debbie and Ruth have to continue to find ways to put aside their personal relationship to make thing works for the show. It doesn’t always happen but the dynamic between these two actresses is so good that you kinda feel like you want them to remain enemies.
Leading the ladies is once again Sam Silvia and the director couldn’t be more of an asshole this season. His dictator-like style of running things around doesn’t go over well with some of the ladies and his favorite target, Ruth Wilder, tries her best to do good and impress her director. His no-bullshit attitude continues throughout the season although we do see a different kind of Sam as the show progresses in the later episodes.
Some of the storylines in this season resemble the real struggles that wrestling promotions go through to keep their show on the air. Sam and Bash find difficulty to attract advertisers and they get hit for “soft” ratings along with a fight to stay on the air in a decent time slot with the powers that be over at the network. This forces the team to put on their best shows in hopes of regaining their time slot which they lost to men’s wrestling and even for Bash to go shop around GLOW to other networks.
There’s also the backstage politics that are ever-so-present in real life and the push to get better contracts from the network. Besides that, the ladies also have to find a way to reach out to their fans and make more money.
Carlito and Chavo Guerrero are the only male pro wrestlers who make an appearance this season and they play a big part in the season finale of the show which includes a wedding in the ring…and you know that wrestling weddings never end as expected! Plus, there’s also a nice entrance that you will immediately recognize from a past WrestleMania.
The whole cast returned for season two with an addition of a new character. Shakira Barrera comes on board to play the role of Yolanda. The rest of the cast has Alison Brie playing Ruth Wilder, Betty Gilpin playing Debbie Eagan, Marc Maron playing Sam Silvia, Kate Nash playing Rhonda Richardson, Gayle Rankin playing Sheila the She-Wolf, Sydelle Noel playing Cherry Bang, Britney Young playing Carmen Wade, Britt Baron playing Justine Biagi, Kia Stevens playing Tamme Dawson, Jackie Tohn playing Melanie Rosen, Ellen Wong playing Jenny Chen, Sunita Mani playing Arthie Premkumar, Chris Lowell playing Bash Howard, Marianna Palka playing Reggie Walsh, Kimmy Gatewood playing Stacey Beswick, Rebekka Johnson playing Dawn Rivecca, Bashir Salahuddin playing Keith Bang, and Rich Sommer playing Mark Eagan.
All GLOW episodes are filmed in beautiful 4K HDR and will be available for binge watching on June 29 only on Netflix.
